Development and Performance Pre Competition training

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This weekend, athletes in the Development and Performance Squads are spending time together in the Forest of Dean whilst working on their technical and psychological training. They are also joined by some members of the Watch Squad. The overall theme for the camp is: ‘Decision Making under Fatigue’.

The group met together, in Bristol, on Thursday evening allowing them an early start on Friday for sprint training, before splitting into sprint and forest groups for a second session. The camp then moved to the Forest of Dean where the group spent time discussing and testing attentional focus and considering how they filter relevant, and irrelevant, information when they are competing.

This morning, the session was followed by a workshop that considered stressful situations and coping strategies for anxiety. The athletes also spent time using ‘Eye Tracking’ equipment whilst considering how individual athletes look at the map with and without distractors.

This session was followed by technical training sessions in Park End (forest) and Ross on Wye (Sprint) whilst continuing the theme of 'decision making under pressure'. The group are now moving to Lydney for Mixed Sprint Relay training this afternoon and are planning on moving on to 'route choice' tomorrow before the camp ends.

Photo top: Sprint training at Durham Down, Bristol

Photo left: Experimenting with Eye Gaze with and without distractions​